Vince Wilfork believes in Patriots defense

FOXBORO — The Patriots only have two players remaining from their three Super Bowl championship teams, those being quarterback Tom Brady and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. Talk about a pair of aces.

While the offense has, for the most part, remained productive under the direction of Brady since that last Lombardi Trophy was hoisted in 2004, the defense fell into disrepair over the past three seasons despite the best efforts of Wilfork.

But Wilfork, who was a rookie when he won his only ring, believes these Patriots have the necessary pieces to return the defense to a place of prominence in the NFL.

He sees the potential for a unit that attacks rather than reacts. One that neither bends nor breaks. And one that, ultimately, might even get a certain hooded curmudgeon to crack an occasional smile.

It's only a small sample size, but the big guy's football faith appears to be justified following the Patriots' 13-10 win over the New York Jets on Thursday night at warm, windy and wet Gillette Stadium.

It was a decision that left the New Englanders with a 2-0 record and in first place in the AFC East following its second win in five days against a division opponent.

"I think we're building toward something that can be pretty good for us," Wilfork said. "It would be good for once for the defense to take the field and the guys have the confidence on offense and special teams knowing that we're going to close out games."

The defense definitely did its part as the Patriots opened the season with a 23-21 win in Buffalo. It held the Bills to 286 yards, 13 first downs and 14 points (Buffalo's other points came on a fumble return) while producing two takeaways.

It was more the same Thursday.

There were certainly some scary moments in the second half, but on a night when Brady was as accurate as Tim Tebow the defense made three big plays in the final 11 minutes to stave off the inspired New Yorkers and secure the win.

"Over the years the offense has bailed us out so many times it's good to get a win like this," linebacker Jerod Mayo said.

The Jets finished with 318 yards, 15 first downs (one by penalty) and four turnovers while going 6 for 18 (33 percent) on third down and 1 for 2 in the red zone.

Perhaps most encouraging, after only hitting Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel four times and failing to bring him down once the Patriots sacked Geno Smith, the Jets' rookie QB, four times and hit him another five times.

The defensive line got all the takedowns with sophomore Chandler Jones recording two sacks and veteran Tommy Kelly and rookie Michael Buchanan one each.

"One of our goals is to put pressure on the quarterbacks and we knew how important it was to be in the face of this quarterback and how important it was to keep him in the pocket," Wilfork said of Smith, who ran for 17 yards on three carries after burning the Buccaneers for 49 yards on six carries in Week 1.

There were two impressive stretches for the defense, one in the second quarter and the other in the fourth.

The Patriots amped up the pressure in the second, limiting the Jets to 29 yards and taking a 13-3 lead into intermission. The New Yorkers went three-and-out on their final three series of the half as they lost a total of 14 yards while Jones and Buchanan got their sacks.

Jones, a defensive end by trade, did his damage while lining up at tackle.

"It was a new position," he said. "Coach (Bill) Belichick came up to me and asked me to play there and I'm going to do anything to help the team win."

With a hard rain falling, the Jets started to move the ball behind Smith (15 for 35, 214 yards, 27.6 passer rating) in the third quarter. They gained 97 yards with 58 coming on a touchdown drive capped by Bilal Powell's 3-yard scoring run that trimmed the deficit to 13-10 with 5:05 left.

The Jets threatened to take the lead early in the fourth before an excursion into New England territory was halted when Kyle Arrington tipped a pass fellow cornerback Aqib Talib corralled for an interception.

Rookie Alfonzo Dennard halted a second scoring drive later in the fourth with an interception before Talib clinched the win with his second pick of the night with 38 seconds to play.

It was a fitting ending to a game in which the defense carried the day for one of the few times in a long time.

"We're a team that relies on one another," Wilfork said. "Without the 13 points we lose, so I think everybody wants to see blowouts all the time, but it doesn't always happen like that. You go back in history and look at some of the toughest games, some of the toughest teams and they win games 17-10, 17-14 _ close games.

"o I think this team needs to learn how to win close games, how to play for 60 minutes and be in a dogfight with our rival. We need to learn that and two weeks in a row we got tested and we rose to the occasion."